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Malgaruk
Malgaruk's are powerful earth-bound dragons that can tunnel underground at amazing speeds. They are considered by most to be the guardians of the earth, originally placed there by the gods themselves to help oversee creation. Appearance Malgaruks are enormous earth-bound dragons. They are possessed of a lithe serpentine form with well developed front and hind legs. The claws of the front limbs are exceptionally agile and well articulated for a dragon species. The long tail of the Malgaruk ends in a heavy, somewhat mace-like, appendage and can be effectively be used as a weapon. The scales of the Malgaruk are usually a dark brown hue on top with a more beige or tan underside. The scales themselves are legendary for their impervious nature and give the Malgaruk a very 'armored' appearance. These scales are so stout that even the mightiest of blows usually just skip off of their hides. Males are easily differentiated from females by the long, spiraling, horns at the back of their heads. Unlike normal dragons, the Malgaruk favors the use of mighty spells over the use of their physical attacks and powerful breath weapons. This is partially because Malgaruks are, on average, phsycially weaker perhaps than their cousins but mostly because of their powerful roles as guardians of the earth. Scholars speculate that this, along with their ability to burrow deep underground, is why the Malgaruk's scales are so impervious. Ecology Supposedly, no one living in the Current Era has seen a Malgaruk and many consider them merely creatures of legend, long since extinct. However, nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true that many of them were slain or lost in the days just prior to the Years of Strife, what is not widely known as that they retreated underground during this time with the Banished Folk. Historically, Malgaruks ate many things from vegetation to large animals, but their favorite meal was the pupal eggs of the deadly Xanagorn whom burrow underground when they are ready to undergo their long metamorphisis. This tendency has kept these large and dangerous insects from overruning much of the populated worlds. Despite the fact that Xanagorn uprisings in the Dungath Expanse are still relatively rare, most scientists attribute this to a general lack of food source more than the possibility Malgaruks are still in existence as the normal type of dragon is fairly rare and they typically tend to avoid heavily populated areas, being found mostly in the less developed lands of the Savage North. In truth, the massive underground city states of Mykloth are each run by a deified Malgaruk family group and their masses are happy to supply them with their traditional delicacy when they can. As Malgaruks seldom breed and have long growth cycles the overwhelming amount of eggs and evolving larvae a single mating pair of Xanagorn can create more than makes up for their appetites. Significance In the distant days of the Creation and leading up to the Years of Strife, Malgaruks were the earth bound care-takers of the gods. They helped to teach the mortals how to live within their new homes and safeguard them from the sometimes devastating forces a growing natural world could create. In many respects, they were revered almost as much as the gods themselves and many could have been said to practically be Demi-gods in their own right. Despite their disappearance from the upper world largely, many still view these creatures with a sense of awe and reverence for their role in the distant past.